Harry Potter and the Phoenix Core ABANDONED
by jwatson16202
Summary: Just cant seem to get this right, if you want to adopt it contact me and I will give you an overview of where I wanted the story to go. STILL UP FOR ADOPTION AS OF 25/4/11 - CONTACT ME
1. Chapter 1

_A/N – Please don't be too harsh with reviews, this is my first fanfic, and also the first major piece of writing I have attempted since I was 10. No doubt the first few chapters will be pretty poor until I get into the swing of writing again, please bear with me and keep reading, I shall probably end up rewriting these chapters later on anyway._

Privet Drive

Harry Potter was bored. Weeks after the fiasco at the Department of Mysteries, he was still stuck at the Dursleys, alone and abandoned by his friends, all contact cut off _"for his safety."_

Tonks had taken him aside and quietly warned him not to leave the house, that powerful blood wards were in place, and that no wizard meaning him harm could cross the boundaries.

Blood wards or not, there was nothing protecting him from his uncle. Uncle Vernon had been particularly vindictive after being threatened at the train station by members of the order. Taking great pleasure in assigning Harry to do great long lists of chores, promising that he wouldn't eat until the chores were done each day. Harry wished he could use magic to help him along, the list kept getting longer.

Harry had spent the summer painting the fences, mowing the lawn, washing the car, weeding the garden. Even when something didn't need doing, he was forced to do it over and over. That fence must have had more coats of paint in the last few weeks that all of the rest of the houses of Privet Drive have had in the last 10 years. His uncle would also beat him if he thought Harry was slacking. Harry's back was red and raw from being smacked with his uncle's belt, and his arms were bruised from where his cousin kept punching him. Dudley had taken up boxing at school, and was using Harry as a punch bag.

"BOY! GET DOWN HERE!"

Harry sighed and went to find out what he had supposedly done this time. It seemed that every slightest thing that went wrong in the house was his fault, even though the Dursleys knew perfectly well that he couldn't do magic outside of school.

"Yes Uncle Vernon?" he asked politely.

"We're going on holiday boy, that is, your aunt, Dudley and I." Uncle Vernon stated. "We're leaving in the morning and we want you out of the house by the time we leave. So you can just pack your stuff and get those _freak _friends of yours to pick you up."

"But Uncle Vernon," Harry protested, thinking back to the warning Tonks had given him at King's Cross. "I'm not supposed to leave, Tonks told me to stay here."

"I don't care what those _freaks_ said boy! We are NOT leaving you here!"

"But.."

"BOY YOU WILL PACK YOUR THINGS AND GO!" Uncle Vernon exploded.

Harry gave up and went upstairs to pack, trying not to panic. He had no way of contacting anyone to pick him up. He was sure that the Order were still watching him however, but he had no way of knowing where they were. His best hope was to try and find out where his watcher was hidden, failing that he would summon the Knight Bus and go to the Burrow, he hoped the Weasleys were there.

It seemed like no time at all before he had his school trunk packed. He kept his wand out, and put his invisibility cloak in his pocket, just in case.

He debated on whether to wait until morning to leave, or go tonight before his uncle got angry at him again.

Deciding it would be better to leave now, Harry grabbed his truck and headed downstairs. Pausing by the front door Harry called to his relatives.

"Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, I'm going now, I'll see you next summer?"

No answer.

Harry sighed again and opened the door, dragging his trunk after him. He paused at the gate wondering where his watcher was, after all it was pretty obvious that he was planning on leaving. He picked up his trunk again and walked a few streets over to Magnolia Crescent. He remembered seeing Sirius here for the first time 3 years ago. A pang of sorrow and guilt stuck him at that thought, it was his fault Sirius was dead. If he hadn't been so stupid as to believe that Sirius was in trouble, if he had only listened to Hermione that it could have been a trap, his godfather would still be alive.

Harry sat down on a wall and tried to pull himself together, Sirius wouldn't want him to fall apart like this. Sirius would want Harry to enjoy life, be happy, and prank the hell out of the Slytherins. Chuckling at that thought, Harry went to the kerb and threw out his wand to summon the Knight Bus.

Nothing happened.

Harry tried again, this time there was a small pop, and a sheet of purple parchment fell to the floor in front of him. Frowning, Harry picked it up and read it.

_Greetings Knight Bus customer. _

_We regret to inform you that due to the current emergency we He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the Knight Bus will not be running. This is to keep our staff safe. However you get to your destination, the Knight Bus company wishes you a pleasant journey._

"Great, just great." Harry muttered to himself. "What am I going to do now?"

Harry sat back on the wall to think over his options, the order either weren't watching him anymore, or more likely it was Mundungus Fletcher who was either asleep, or had snuck off for some nefarious deal or other. Harry decided his best option was to go to Mrs Figg's, and see if she had some way to contact Dumbledore.

Grabbing his trunk again, he wished he could perform magic so he could shrink it, or at least make it lighter. Next chance he got he was going to Diagon Alley to buy himself a magical trunk, he was fed up with lugging this damn thing around.

Muttering and grumbling to himself about stupid laws and heavy trunks, he failed to notice several pops as black cloaked and hooded wizards apparated behind him. Without a word they fanned out and followed.

Harry stopped walking, the hairs on the back of his neck were tingling and he had the feeling that he was being watched. Drawing his wand he turned.

Immediately he was bombarding with curses and hexes from all directions. Harry dodged the spells and dropped into a fighting stance, already launching spells back, although he couldn't see his opponents.

"Stupefy, Stupefy, Reducto, Diffindo, Stupefy, Reducto"

From the screams coming out of the darkness, Harry would guess that he hit at least one of them, but the curses kept coming, he was slowly being overwhelmed and forced into a corner.

"Protego!" he cast in desperation as several curses smashed into his shield. He looked around wildly, he could make out the silhouettes of three attackers making their way towards him. Taking a chance, he dropped another of them with a stunner before being forced to put up his shield again.

"Ooh, widdle baby Potter has been practising!" came a mocking voice, a voice he knew well, one that filled him with hatred, Bellatrix Lestrange. "Too bad it will be for nothing, the Dark Lord wants you Potter, soon you'll join that mutt of a godfather in death."

Rage like he had never felt before filled Harry, dropping his shield he began launching reductor curses at the remaining two attackers. One, he caught in the arm, which broke with a sickening crack. That left him facing Bellatrix alone, her mad laughter never stopping even as she batted away his curses with ease.

"Widdle baby Potter, do you think you can beat me with schoolboy spells?" she said in her horrible mock baby voice. "Let me show you how its done, CRUCIO!"

Harry had no chance to dodge, he collapsed to the floor in agony, his nerves on fire as pain consumed him. How long he was kept under the curse he didn't know, it felt like hours, but it could have been only minutes.

When it was finally over, he didn't even have a chance to react before Bellatrix grabbed his arm and portkeyed him away. He landed with a thump, he barely had time to glance around at the dungeon like room before his scar seared with pain.

"How nice of you to join us Harry Potter" came a high cold voice, the voice that had haunted Harry's dreams ever since the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. "_Kill the spare!"  
_

It was Voldemort.

The room spun and Harry, exhausted from the battle and from the cruciatus curse, passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N – Thank you so much to those who have reviewed/added my story to favourites already. Positive reviews make me want to work faster. _

Harry awoke suddenly, a sharp pain in his ribs, he wondered what happened when the reason for his pain became abundantly clear. Someone was kicking him.

"Get up Potter," drawled a familiar voice. "The Dark Lord wants to see you."

Harry squinted at the person standing over him, everything blurry. He realised that his glasses were missing, and he couldn't see a thing. He wondered what Malfoy was doing here, then kicked himself for his stupidity. Of course Malfoy would be here, his father was a Death Eater, who Harry had helped put into Azkaban, Malfoy would want revenge. He had said so much at the end of term.

"Malfoy," he sneered in his best Snape impression, standing up. "Lovely to see you. Does this mean you're following in dear Daddy's footsteps and grovelling at the feet of the Dark Tosser."

He had no idea what made him say that. Goading Malfoy was always fun when Harry was at Hogwarts, not such a good idea when he was wandless and half blind it seemed. Harry gasped in pain as a bludgeoning curse hit him on the side of his head. He smashed into the wall behind him, seeing stars as his head cracked off the rough stonework. He crumpled to the floor again and it was a few moments before his head stopped spinning so he could get up again.

"Did you like that Potter?" Malfoy sneered at him. "Next time you wont be so lucky, now come on"

Having little choice, Harry walked out of the cell, Malfoy following, his wand point at the back of Harry's head. Harry soon lost track of where he was, it seemed like the path from the dungeons to wherever Voldemort was lurking, he'd given up trying to keep track of all the twists and turns. This place was like a maze.

Harry felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of what happened last time he was in a maze. That time too he had been brought before Voldemort, and his blood used in a resurrection ritual that brought the most evil Dark Lord in history back from his half life.

Harry's scar began burning, so he knew that Voldemort wasn't far off. He was stopped before a imposing double doorway, the dark, ebony door stretching right the way to the ceiling. Malfoy jabbed him with his wand.

"In." He said.

Taking a moment to compose himself, Harry held his head up high, and walked proudly through the doors, whatever his fate was, he would face it without fear. As he walked through the door however, he gasped and his step faltered. He had entered a room so large that the Hogwarts Great Hall would have fitted in with room to spare. Voldemort was there, in front of what seemed like all the Death Eaters. Rows upon rows of black clad men and women, Voldemort had certainly been recruiting, any hope of escape quickly fled from Harry's mind.

"Potter!" Voldemort hissed. "Are you well? Is Gryffindor's little golden boy going to pass out again?"

The assembled Death Eater's laughed at this, their voices echoed in the vast chamber. Harry was dragged to the front and forced to kneel before Voldemort, who ignore him to address his minions.

"Greetings my loyal followers," he said to the crowd. "Once again you see before you the boy that they called my downfall. The _Boy-Who-Lived. _I have brought you all here to show you what happens to those who defy me, to prove once and for all that Harry Potter is nothing more than a schoolboy."

He turned to Harry, whose glared defiantly at him.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed. "Four times now, we have met, and four times now you have managed to luck your way out. This time there is no mother to die for you, no fluke with brother wands, and no Dumbledore to save you. You have been brought here so you can die at my hand, alone and powerless like the fool you are."

'Die at his hand? He can't know the prophecy can he?' Harry thought desperately. Unfortunately, Voldemort was a powerful Legilimens and picked up on his thoughts.

"You know the prophecy Potter, tell me!" Voldemort demanded. His eyes boring into Harry's.

Harry tried to block him, focussing more than ever on what Snape said. _"Clear your mind Potter." _But he had never said _how_. Images began swimming before Harry's eyes as Voldemort pushed deeper into his mind, searching for the information he so desperately wanted. Harry tried to clear his mind, he pushed at Voldemort's presence, trying in vain to throw him out . Harry remembered vaguely, as if from another life, that the best occlumens could misdirect their thoughts, to show a legilimens false images, or something harmless. With this in mind, Harry began to focus completely on the other prophecy made by Professor Trelawney. Suddenly the image of the Divination classroom formed in his mind, he saw Professor Trelawney sitting in her armchair, he body rigid and her mouth slack. He remembered thinking she was having some sort of fit.

"_It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight... the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with his servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever he was. Tonight... before midnight...the servant...will set out...to rejoin...his master..."_

Harry felt Voldemort withdraw from his mind, he fell to the floor, panting, his scar burning. His head felt like it had been split in two.

"So Potter, you've learned a few new tricks since we last met. There are other ways of getting information out of you however, _Crucio!_"

Pain rolled over Harry as he screamed and bucked on the floor. Red hot needles were stabbing into his body, his blood was boiling in his veins, his throat was raw from screaming. He had tried to bite his lip to hold in the screams, but had bitten right through, blood filled his mouth, and still the curse went on. Just when he thought he would pass out, Voldemort lifted the curse.

"Tell me the prophecy Potter, or I promise you it will get worse. Tell me the prophecy and your death will be quick and painless"

Harry lay gasping on the floor, using all his strength, he lifted himself half off the floor.

"Go to hell Tom!" he spat, blood spraying from his torn lip.

"Very well Potter, you wish to do this the hard way. _CRUCIO!"_

_* * * * *  
_

Nymphadora Tonks was panicking, the aurors on duty had been alerted to magic being performed in a muggle area, along with several dark curses. Her blood ran cold when she found out where the alert was.

_Little Whinging, Surrey_

When she got there she discovered several unconscious and one dead Death Eater, and panicked muggles everywhere. Harry however was not in sight. She left her team to do the cleaning up, and called in the oblivators.

"Kingsley, I'm going to check on Harry, see if he's there." She said to Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Senior auror present. She made her way over to number four, and rang the bell. It was opened by Vernon Dursley.

"Yes?" he asked, taking note of her clothing. "You're one of _them _aren't you?"

"Mr Dursley," she replied. "I am Auror Tonks, I'm here investigating the disturbance earlier this evening, would it be possible to speak with Harry?"

"He's not here, that worthless _freak _left earlier."

"He.. left?" Tonks asked weakly.

"That's right, and good riddance. We're off on holiday in the morning and we didn't want that good for nothing spoiling our trip. So we told him to pack his stuff and go to his freaky friends."

Tonks gasped, the Death Eaters had taken Harry, there was no other reason for them to have been here. Anger filled her, those stupid muggles, did they have any idea what they had done?

"Mr Dursley," she started, her voice cold, her anger evident. "Those Death Eaters have taken Harry, they probably plan on torturing and killing him"

"Good riddance, that _freak_ will get what he deserves, we always were too soft on him, we should have kept him locked him in his cupboard instead of letting him go off to that school."

Tonks was livid. They locked him in a cupboard? How could someone do that to their own nephew?

"You had better not come back from your holiday, if Harry is killed, the wards protecting your home will fall, and the Death Eaters will come after you. I hope you realise just how serious this is."

"DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN ME AND MY FAMILY!" Vernon roared. "WE WILL NOT BE TOLD WHAT TO DO BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"

Tonks was so close to pulling out her wand and hexing him right there, but with other aurors around, she would get into trouble for hexing a muggle. She managed to fight the impulse and turned away. Her mind racing, where would they have taken Harry? Oh gods what would they do to him. She had to let Dumbledore know, but she was on duty until midnight.

She hoped Harry was ok.

* * * * *

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office at Hogwarts, sucking on a lemon drop. He had repaired his office after Harry's rampage, and the little silver items whirred and spun and puffed out smoke once more. No one knew what they did exactly, and it was one of his most guarded secrets that most of them did nothing at all, most just there for decoration, and to add to the mystique of the mighty Albus Dumbledore. He felt a small twinge of guilt at how Harry had been raised, but it was necessary that Harry grew up abused, it made him less resistant to being moulded into the perfect little weapon against Voldemort.

Dumbledore chuckled to himself at the memory of telling Harry his great power was _love._ As if that could defeat a Dark Wizard with nearly half a century more magical experience. No, Dumbledore just needed Harry to want to fight, he would throw himself at Voldemort when the time was right, and Dumbledore would be right behind him, ready to finish off Voldemort after Harry had fell, and then he, Albus, would be the most famous Wizard in history, no other wizard would have defeated two dark lords in his lifetime.

The wards on his fireplace alerted him that someone was arriving by floo. He looked up to see Nymphadora Tonks come flying out in a state of great distress.

"Albus, you've got to come, Harry's gone!" She wailed. Dumbledore sat up, surprised, he hadn't planned on Harry leaving his relatives until maybe the last week of the holidays, after all, Harry would be so grateful to Dumbledore if he was the one to come rescue him.

"Calm down Nymphadora, tell me what happened." Dumbledore said softly. It was a sign of how upset and panicked she was that Tonks didn't even notice the use of her first name.

"Harry's gone, there was a disturbance with Death Eaters in Little Whinging, Harry had been kicked out by his uncle, and he's been taken. Oh Albus what are we going to do?"

Dumbledore sat again and thought, Harry was most likely brought before Voldemort by now, and rescuing him would be most difficult, even if they did know where to find him. On the other hand, Harry could not be allowed to die just yet, it was his destiny to bring down Voldemort. He sighed.

"Nymphadora, please would you go to headquarters, I will call a meeting of the Order to plan out our rescue of young Mr Potter."

Tonks agreed, and went back to the fireplace. Throwing a handful of powder into the fire she called out "Number Twelve Grimmauld Place." and disappeared in a flash of green flame.

After she had left, Dumbledore continued to ponder what to do about Harry. Truth be told he didn't have any idea where Voldemort's hideout was, and he very much doubted that Severus would be able to tell him. The place was bound to be unplottable at the very least, and under fidelius at worst. Dumbledore knew he had no choice but to hope that Harry's famous luck help him escape from Voldemort once again.

_'The power he knows not' _Dumbledore thought. _'Could it be luck?'_

With that thought Dumbledore reached into his pocket, and activated his chocolate frog card, which would signal all Order members to come to headquarters immediately for an emergence meeting.

_* * * * *_

"Albus, you've got to do something." Molly Weasley wailed as soon as Dumbledore stepped into the kitchen at headquarters. "That poor boy, who knows what those foul people are doing to him right now."

"Good evening Molly." Dumbledore greeted her softly. "We are indeed going to do something about Harry, however we must wait for Severus to return with news."

There was a lot of shouting and arguing following this, the majority of the Order had a deep respect for Harry after the events of the Department of Mysteries. The assembled Weasleys especially couldn't bear the thought of leaving Harry at the mercy of Voldemort for even one minute longer than necessary.

Eventually they quietened down to wait, Dumbledore working through a number of routine reports and tasks, each awaiting Severus Snape's return. Several hours later, they heard the front door open and close, and the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. Everyone was staring as the hook-nosed, greasy-haired form of Hogwarts' least favourite professor came into the kitchen.

"Ah Severus," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "What news do you have of Harry?"

"I am afraid, Headmaster, that Potter has indeed been captured." Snape replied. "The Dark Lord has hidden him away under fidelius, I cannot tell you where he is kept."

"What are his plans Severus, what does he plan to do with Harry?"

"The Dark Lord's original plan was to kill Potter, in front of all the Death Eaters, to prove his superiority by killing the boy-who-lived. Now however, it seems that he has become aware that Potter knows the prophecy, and is devoting his time to forcing the boy to tell it to him. Potter managed to keep the Dark Lord from extracting it using Legilimency, I was, ah, surprised. The brat never showed any competency with Occlumency, he was far too much like his arrogant father..."

"That's _enough _ Severus" Dumbledore said sharply, cutting Snape off mid rant. "What happened after that?"

"The Dark Lord gave Potter one more chance to tell him the prophecy willingly, and when Potter refused, used the cruciatus curse on him until he passed out. The Dark Lord plans to break Potter's mind to get the prophecy, using any means possible."

The shocked silence following this was broken by the sounds of Molly Weasley sobbing into her husband's shoulder.

_A/N(2) -Just realised I never gave any hint that the world knew that Harry was missing. Chapter edited to include newspaper release after his kidnap. Sorry about that :-)_

**Boy-Who-Lived Kidnapped  
**_Harry Potter, 15, better known as The Boy-Who-Lived has gone missing after leaving his relatives' house in Little Whinging, Surrey. Muggle witnesses say that several hooded men and women appeared from nowhere and began firing "strange beams of light" at him. The battle was short and fast, young Harry Potter disabling 4 of his attackers before being overcome by Bellatrix Lestrange._

_He was taken by portkey to an unknown location, presumably to You-Know-Who himself._

_After the events at the Ministry last month, centred on the fabled Hall of Prophecies, where it seemed that the Death Eaters were determined to retrieve a prophecy, many in the wizarding world have come to think of Harry Potter as the Chosen One. With him know in You-Know-Who's clutches, some are wondering just how we can get through this war._

The Daily Prophet would like to send our best wishes to Mr Potter, the hope of the wizarding world rests with him.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N – Wow guys, only 2 chapters in and I have 4 positive reviews already, 6 favs and 9 alerts. I wasn't planning on writing another chapter for another couple of days, but I feel inspired right now._

Warning – this chapter contains mention of torture.

The first thing Harry was aware of was pain, every part of his body ached, even his hair. Harry didn't even think that was possible but apparently it was. Every breath he took made his damaged lungs burn with pain. Harry couldn't even begin to keep track of how long he had been there, several months if the cold wind blowing into his cell were any indication.

When the cruciatus curse had failed to force the prophecy out of Harry, Voldemort had turned him over to the Death Eaters "to soften him up." Harry was completely at the mercy of some of the most sadistic wizards on the planet, who had been given a carte blanche to do what they liked to him, with the provision that he stayed alive. Unfortunately for Harry, this was a rather large scope of torture, for with a trained mediwizard amongst their ranks, the Death Eaters could bring him right to the brink of death, only to heal him again ready for the next day.

Harry had been put under the cruciatus curse more times than he could remember, his bones had been broken, and in some cases removed and painfully regrown. He had been stabbed with red hot needles, and had his fingernails ripped out one by one. One Death Eater, he thought it might have been Macnair, conjured a fire whip from his wand and lashed his back raw, removing all the skin from his back.

He had been left without food and water for days on end, then giving a purging potion. The dry heaving from that lasted days, and twisted muscles Harry didn't even know he had.

Voldemort had even let Bellatrix Lestrange off her leash to play. She had chained Harry to the wall and stripped him, then proceeded to carve into his flesh with a knife, laughing madly all the time and his pain and panic, licking his blood from the blade.

He had even had acid mist sprayed into his cell as he slept, which was slowly eating its way through his lungs. They had done this before, and Harry knew from experience that they wouldn't bring the healer in until he was practically drowning in his own blood.

Of course when all that failed, there was always the old fashioned fallback of beating him senseless when nothing better came to mind. Harry was used to being a punchbag from when his cousin used to play Harry Hunting back in Little Whinging, and of course when his uncle was in a particularly foul mood he would beat Harry too. Yes, Harry was no stranger to beatings.

In a bizarre twist, Harry had mastered Occlumency by now, and could completely clear his mind and shut off all outside stimuli. He could effectively switch off during his sessions, and the dementors outside his cell no longer forced him to relive his worst nightmares over and over again. He had heard his mother begging and pleading with Voldemort to spare his life, he saw Cedric drop lifelessly to the ground, he heard the Death Eaters laughing as Voldemort tortured him as he was tied to the gravestone. He watched his Godfather fall through the veil time and time again, knowing it was all his fault. Worst of all had been the crushing depression that came from the knowledge that he had been abandoned. Now of course, everything was just numb and blank. He wouldn't break and reveal the prophecy, he could sink completely into his own mind until he was left alone, whereupon he could take stock of his injuries

Speaking of Dementors, the air around him was warm, so he couldn't be in his cell. Harry tried to open his eyes, but found that one was still swollen shut from his last beating. He tried to push himself up, but collapsed in agony as his dislocated shoulder failed to support his weight. 'How did that happen?' Harry wondered to himself. The answer, when he remembered it made him snort in amusement. Who would have thought that the Malfoys, the most stuck up of purebloods, would have had a torture chamber filled with _muggle _instruments in their manor?

He heard laughter from behind him, he turned and managed to make out the shape of Voldemort, watching him in twisted amusement. The Death Eaters once again arranged behind him.

"Are you ready to tell me the prophecy yet Potter?" he hissed. "Tell me now and I'll end your pain right here."

Harry was distracted and barely noticed Voldemort's presence slip into his mind, searching for the prophecy. Harry immediately threw up his barriers, and brought up images of all the times Voldemort had been defeated and humiliated. Harry tried to build walls around Voldemort's presence, to trap him within these memories, but he slipped out before Harry could finish the trap.

"You think that you're funny Potter?" Voldemort snarled. "You will pay for your insolence, _CRUCIO_!"

Harry merely raised his occlumency shields, and let his consciousness sink away from the pain of the curse. When it was over he spoke.

"Is that all you've got Tom?" He sneered. "The big, bad Dark Lord, only knows one spell, is that it?" He mocked.

Harry knew he was pushing his luck, but he knew that there was no chance of rescue, and death was his only way out of this mess. He had to provoke Voldemort enough to make him cast the killing curse. He fought down a pang of regret that he would never see his friends again. He thought of Ron and Hermione, how they had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts, and how they constantly danced each other even though they both fancied each other. Harry broke off his thoughts suddenly as he was hit unexpectedly by another cruciatus, this time, without being prepared, he screamed. He had screamed himself hoarse before the curse was lifted. He should have known, Voldemort would never be provoked into simply killing him, he wanted the prophecy too badly. Still, he had to try. He glared defiantly at Voldemort, blood running freely from wounds he had reopened thrashing around.

"You would do well to remember where you are Potter," Voldemort said dangerously. "I am Lord Voldemort and I am more powerful than you could ever hope to be"

Harry actually scoffed hearing that.

"Powerful Tom? Does torturing unarmed children make you feel powerful? What about murdering babies who can hardly stand? You're a coward Tom. You want to prove you're powerful, then give me back my wand and duel me like a man."

Voldemort's eyes narrowed as he glared hatefully at Harry, it seemed he was actually considering the proposition.

"Very well Potter, seeing as you are in a hurry to die, I believe I can help you on your way. Wormtail, give Potter his wand, the rest of you, clear some space."

He turned back to look at Harry.

"I'm going to enjoy this Potter, I'm going to destroy you slowly, and rip the prophecy from your mind before I kill you."

Wormtail rushed into the circle cleared by the Death Eaters, and hauled Harry to his feet, he shoved Harry's wand into his hand and then ran out without looking back. Harry felt a rush of warmth flow up his arm as he was reunited with his wand. He felt the magic flow around him, energising him for the fight ahead. He turned his attention back to Voldemort, wondering if what he was about to do would annoy the monster, with great exaggeration he bowed. Voldemort looked taken aback for a brief moment, then he sneered at Harry.

"Looks like Potter here has learned his lesson from last time, _bow to death Harry,_" he mocked. Without warning he launched a sickly brown curse at Harry, who only just dodged out of the way, he didn't know what the curse was and didn't know if it could be blocked. He retaliated by launching a series of blasting and cutting curses, wishing all the time that he knew better spells. He grew frustrated as Voldemort just swatted the curses away like they were flies. He noticed that the redirected curses splashed against some sort of shield at the edge of the circle. It seemed that Voldemort had warded the area to prevent stray spells hitting his followers. Harry ducked under a nasty looking purple spell and raised a shield to block a stunner following it. This was no good, he was hopelessly outclassed, and by the looks of it Voldemort wasn't aiming to kill just yet.

Harry remembered Voldemort's duel with Dumbledore at the ministry, and remembered how the man had used the statues and rubble to defend himself. Harry knew he was nowhere near Dumbledore's league in transfiguration, but maybe he could work something out. Dodging left all the time, Harry tried to get Voldemort in between himself and a statue, hoping this worked, Harry cast a disarming charm on Voldemort and quickly summoned the statue. Unfortunately Voldemort was prepared for this, sidestepping the disarming charm and the statue, he flicked his wand and the statue shattered, the pieces all shot towards Harry, who was unable to dodge in time. Several pieces caught him in the chest and stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and the largest piece caught him on his already injured left arm, breaking his elbow.

Harry dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. The boost of adrenaline from reclaiming his wand had left him. He was in no fit state to duel, staved and beaten he was very weak. Through the haze settling over his vision, he saw Voldemort point his wand once more. Too tired to think, Harry raised his wand and cast at the same time.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

The jet of green light from Voldemort's wand met the red light from Harry's, and once more the wands connected, a golden beam joining each wand tip, the sound of Phoenix song filling his ears, strengthening his will. Harry knew what he had to do, and began pushing the beads of light back towards Voldemort's wand. Voldemort too, it seemed had been expecting this. While Harry had all his attention on the priori incantatum effect he failed to notice Voldemort dive into his mind until the image of Dumbledore's trashed office swam before his vision, the image of Professor Trelawney rising from Dumbledore's pensieve.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches.…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not.…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives.…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"_ Harry dropped his wand in defeat, and the Priori Incantatum was broken. Voldemort knew the prophecy. Months of resisting, all for nothing. "What power do you have that I don't Potter? All I see before me is a weak schoolboy. Goodbye Harry Potter, AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry snatched up his wand and pointed it at his enemy, but before he could say a spell the green light of the killing curse struck the end of his wand. The wand exploded with the force of a small bomb, torrents of magical energy, along with the broken shards of his wand, ripped through Harry's already broken body. Harry screamed as he felt his magic run out of control, searing through his veins. Voldemort looked slightly afraid as he felt the buildup of magical potential in the air, far more power than he had ever channelled in his life. Reaching into the pocket of his robes, he activated his emergency portkey, his inner circle disappearing along with him. Harry had started to glow, the magic pouring off of him in waves. The assembled Death Eaters, seeing their leader flee, panicked and rushed for the exits. A few of the bolder ones started launching curses at Harry, who didn't seem to be affected at all. Even the killing curse was seemingly absorbed by the young wizard. Harry burst into pure white flames, gave one last tortured scream before collapsing to the ground.

The magical energy Harry had been holding in was released all in one go. The magical backlash levelled the building, the walls blasted outwards in an inferno of white fire, and the roof blown off, any Death Eater still within the building was vaporised instantly.

When all the dust had settled, all that was left of Malfoy Manor, aside from a few lumps of stone and brick, was a curiously neat pile of ashes, at the very centre of the circle of devastation. Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a baby phoenix, with pure white down.

The baby Phoenix chirped to itself and it fought to stand. Magic flared as the Phoenix suddenly grew to full size, the fluffy down giving way to pure white feathers with yellow gold tips. Startling emerald-green eyes took in the devastation surrounding it. Stretching its wings, the Phoenix took off, and in a flash of flame, was gone. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter, this fic is written purely for pleasure and not profit.**

_A/N – Thanks again to all those reviewing/favouring/watching my story. It really makes writing worthwhile._

Also as an added note, whilst I have the majority of this story planned out, it is only planned out for what happens to Harry. I am open to requests/ideas for the rest of the characters. Please send a message via the Author Homepage, or even better add it to your review *hint* *hint* ;-)

Tonks looked around aghast at what used to be Malfoy Mansion. The mansion, grounds, and a sizeable chunk of the surrounding area were nothing more than a charred and blackened wasteland. Small fires were still burning in what used to be dense woodlands. They had been pulled off of the search for Harry Potter to investigate a magical explosion in Wiltshire. The explosion had the ministry in an uproar. The amount of power from the surge fried every sensor they had. Leaving the ministry rather panicked trying to replace damaged equipment.

"My gods, what could cause this sort of destruction." She asked in horror. Nothing she had learned in Auror school, nor anything she had ever read about in her studies had the scale for this much damage. All the spells she knew of were of a more precise sort, targeted at a specific point, rather than widespread damage.

"I don't know Tonks," Kingsley Shacklebolt replied. "If it wasn't for that huge surge earlier that melted our sensors I would have said that this was the result of a muggle bomb."

"Muggles can do this?" Tonks asked, shocked.

"Sure can, I hear they have bombs that can level entire cities and leave the area uninhabitable for decades."

Tonks was stunned at this news. She looked around at the Aurors doing the cleanup. She couldn't imagine how muggles could come up with something so destructive, or how they could use such a destructive weapon on each other. Wizards might kill each other, a Dark Lord seemed to pop up every few generations, their minions bent on death and destruction, yet none of them had ever wiped an entire city off the map. The thought that muggles could turn that power against wizards if they ever discovered the wizarding world was rather disquieting, so was the idea of an unknown spell that could level an entire mansion.

"Of course that begs the question of just what happened here." She said, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind. The damage was clearly magical, yet nobody knew of a spell powerful enough to level half the countryside.

The was a shout from one of the unspeakables sorting through the wreckage of the manor itself. The two Aurors hurried over to see what they had found. Kingsley and Tonks were shown over to a pile of ashes, surrounded by unspeakables in grey hooded cloaks waving wands over it, whispering to each other excitedly.

"What is it?" Tonks asked.

"We've identified Mr Potter's magical signature." One unspeakable replied, looking almost indecently excited considering what had happened.

Tonks looked confused for a moment, her expression changed to one of horror when she realised just where the signature was.

"You mean... these ashes.. that he's.." she stammered, unable to voice the question she wasn't sure she was ready to hear the answer to.

"That's what's confusing us, these are phoenix ashes."

"But.. you said that you had found Harry's magical signature..?"

"We have."

"You mean these ashes, these _Phoenix _ashes, are from Harry?"

"That's correct. We have no idea how he managed it, Phoenix animagi are unheard of, it would be impossible for anyone to replicate a phoenix's magical abilities, noone really understands their magic."

"So why..."

They were interrupted by the arrival of an owl. It dropped a scroll at Tonks' feet and flew away again, obviously not awaiting a reply. Tonks picked up the scroll and read it quickly.

_Nymphadora, Kingsley,_

_Harry has been found, he appeared in the middle of the Great Hall. He's alive but in a bad state, come to Hogwarts as soon as you can. Do NOT let on that he has been found just yet, there are some unusual circumstances that we do not want the ministry aware of just yet. Destroy this message after you have read it._

Albus Dumbledore

She handed the letter to Kingsley, who read through it. His eyes met with Tonks' who nodded. Quickly he burned the parchment with an incendio spell. They made their excuses to the curious unspeakable, who was watching their actions with interest. They made their way over to the edge of the newly erected wards, from where they could apparate. They gave one last look at the ruined mansion, turned on their heels, and with a small pop, they were gone.

* * * * *

The phoenix flew high above the clouds, where it was going it didn't know, it was following an instinct that lead it onwards, leading to somewhere it knew would be safe. How it knew this it didn't know, it was something it just knew. The moon shone in the sky, making the phoenix shine with an ethereal beauty.

Something wasn't right, the phoenix had a nagging feeling that it was forgetting something, but every time it tried to latch onto that thought it slipped away. Images and memories flashed through it's mind, too quickly to make sense of. The only thing on the phoenix's mind was the image of a white haired, white bearded man, and the feeling of safety that came along with it. And so the phoenix flew onwards, to where it knew safety could be found.

* * * * *

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he stood up to address the assembled students. Tonight was the Halloween feast, and the staff had decided to host a Halloween Fancy Dress Ball. Needless to say this news had been extremely popular with the girls, whereas the boys had just groaned. Nevertheless, the entirety of the student body had turned out tonight. He sighed again, he wished he knew what had happened to Harry, without him his plans would fall apart.

"A happy Halloween to you all." He said, addressing the students. "I must say, you all really have done well dressing up tonight. Especially you Mr Weasley." He said with a twinkle in his eye. For Ron had dressed up as Dumbledore himself, he had charmed himself to have long white hair and beard, dressed in the loudest robes he could find, and was offering lemon drops to everyone he came across. Then the twinkle faded and his face became grave.

"I know you are all keen to begin the festivities, but I would like to take a moment to remember Harry Potter. Fifteen years ago this very night Voldemort," he paused as people around the room gasped and flinched at the name. "Voldemort," he repeated firmly. "Attacked the Potters, leaving only Harry alive. And now fifteen years on, we can only hope and pray that Harry survives. Harry Potter is a true Gryffindor, he is the very embodiment of Godric Gryffindor's ideals and values, courageous, noble, proud, and above all he always stands up for what he believes is right, not what is easy. Let us stand now and pay our respects to a fine young man, Harry Potter."

The students, including the vast majority of the Slytherins, stood and echoed Dumbledore's words.

"Harry Potter, a true Gryffindor."

Dumbledore watched them for a moment, secretly amazed at the support one person had from all four Hogwarts houses.

"I believe I've said enough for this evening, I just have four more words to say. On with the feast." And with that, food appeared on the house tables. The students dug in eagerly, all except three sitting at the far end of the Gryffindor table, slightly detached from the others in their house.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny had not taken Harry's disappearance well, and the stress was showing on them. When they had first heard the news, they had wanted to go straight out and start searching for him. Ron and Hermione had argued that they be allowed to help, Harry was their best friend, and they had stuck with him for five years. Eventually though, they gave in and agreed to wait for news. Ginny however, had hexed three of the order members in an attempt to leave before she had been stunned.

None of them slept in the three days before Snape arrived with the news that filled them with both relief and dread. Harry was still alive, but in Voldemort's clutches, being tortured in ways they could hardly imagine. Ginny and Hermione had broken down and cried, and Ron was simply in shock. Eventually Madame Pomfrey had to be called to administer calming draughts to them all.

None of them had wanted to return to Hogwarts without Harry, they had wanted to help the Order with the search. Mrs Weasley had other ideas. She had told Ron and Ginny that they were going to Hogwarts, even if she had to drag them there herself. Hermione, not wanting to be left alone, had reluctantly agreed to go too. Once there however, it was clear than none of the three intended to focus on their studies, even Hermione's grades were falling, she had received ten Outstandings and one Exceeds Expectations in her O. and was one of the top scoring students in their year, but now she was barely passing her classes. She was rarely seen outside of lessons, and it was clear she was hardly sleeping. Her face was pale and she had dark shadows under her eyes.

Ginny was much the same, her eyes were red rimmed and puffy and she had obviously been crying. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone since being forced to come back to school, barring spells in classes. Most of the teachers took pity on her, refraining from calling on her in lessons. Snape however, was his usual vindictive self. He would call on her to answer questions, and when she failed to respond, he would dock points, or give her detention. She really couldn't care less though, her heart was breaking and she thought she might have missed her chance to tell Harry that she loved him. Ever since she was a little girl she had a crush on the "Boy-Who-Lived" she had been told about by her mother. Her crush had only got worse after Harry had rescued her from the Chamber in her first year. She had gone out with other people, and thought she was over Harry, who had never seen her as anything other than Ron's little sister. Last year however, seeing glimpses of the man that Harry was becoming as he lead the D.A had sparked something in Ginny. He had shown a natural leadership, and a pure joy in teaching, and a patience and compassion that rarely showed. During the battle at the ministry, he had again taken charge, and she had been surprised at the aura of power and determination that flowed from him as he battled to save not only his life, but of theirs as well. She knew now without a doubt, that she loved him.

Ron however was having the worst time of it. Over the years there had been many times when he had been jealous of Harry. Harry had lots of money, something Ron's family always struggled with. Harry was always the one in the spotlight, right from the moment he had first stepped into Hogwarts and Ron, being his best friend, had always been pushed to the side. Now he realised just what it meant to be Harry Potter, and he was furious at himself for being jealous of Harry, who had always stood up for him against Malfoy, had been his best mate even after Ron had turned his back on him during fourth year. Harry who had fought down a basilisk to save his sister's life. Harry who had thought of Ron as family. He forced down a surge of guilt as he realised he had been thinking about Harry in the past tense. He vowed that when Harry was found, he would be a better friend.

"He'll be ok Ron." Said Hermione, seemingly reading Ron's mind. "He's fought his way out of tough situations before." She reassured.

"I just miss him Hermione," he replied.

"We all do Ron, we all do."

Soon, the feast finished and Dumbledore had them all stand, and with a flick of his wand, had banished the tables. Two more flicks conjured a stage complete with instruments, and a dance floor covering the front half of the Great Hall. The students cheered as the Weird Sisters, back again by popular demand, walked onto the stage and prepared to play. Ron, Hermione and Ginny had little interest in dancing, and continued to talk amongst themselves in a quiet corner of the room. They watched as most students there danced happily, without a care in the world, not worrying about where Harry could be, nor worrying what Voldemort might be up to. They desperately wished that Harry was with them, and they could forget the war for the evening and just be normal teenagers.

Midnight approached and the band played out one last song. As the last note faded away, the large window behind the stage smashed as something flew through it and crashed to the ground. Several students screamed at the sudden noise, thinking that they were under attack. Dumbledore was slightly shocked to see that it was a Phoenix, but of a type he had never seen before. Deciding that he would solve that mystery later, he calmed the students before repairing the window with a wave of his wand.

"Prefects," he called. "Please lead your houses back to the common rooms, there is nothing to worry about, so please remain calm. If you would please put your hands together to thank the band for coming tonight." There was widespread applause and cheering for the Weird Sisters, and with a lot of bustle and noise, the hall emptied.

Dumbledore gently picked up the exhausted bird and carried it to his office. Setting the phoenix gently on his desk, he began to wave his wand over the bird. He frowned as he still didn't recognise the species. All of a sudden, the phoenix opened its eyes, and Dumbledore was startled to find himself staring into the bird's brilliant emerald eyes. They seemed oddly familiar.

"Harry?" he gasped. The phoenix struggled to get up briefly, then collapsed again. Dumbledore cast another series of spells over it, then with a satisfied nod cast one more spell. Dumbledore recoiled in horror as the broken form of Harry Potter appeared on his desk.


	5. Abandoned

Sorry to all those who have been waiting faithfully for an update, I just can't seem to make the story work how I want it so it's now up for adoption, please contact me if you wish to continue writing and I will provide general plot outlines as to how I envision the story should go, I will even beta for you if needed.  
Please do not just continue writing without contacting me first

James


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